Five University of Minnesota scholars honored as AAAS Fellows

Five University of Minnesota faculty members were elected to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 2025 class of Fellows, exemplifying the University’s commitment to groundbreaking research that improves lives, informs policy and strengthens communities in Minnesota and beyond.

Erin E. Carlson, Michael Gale, Maria Gini, Daniel Harki and Carolyn Silflow joined a nationwide cohort of 449 scientists, engineers and innovators spanning 24 scientific disciplines who are being recognized with this lifetime honor for their scientifically and socially distinguished achievements. Currently, there are 60 elected AAAS Fellows from the University of Minnesota.

“I’m honored to recognize our five professors who have earned their place among the nation’s most distinguished scientists as AAAS Fellows,” said University of Minnesota Executive Vice President and Provost Gretchen Ritter. “It is a well-deserved testament to their intellectual curiosity, rigorous scholarship and unwavering commitment to furthering knowledge in service of the public good. They are united across their diverse fields by a common interest in open collaboration with their peers and in building opportunities for the next generation of scientific leaders beyond the classroom.” 

Erin E. Carlson was recognized by AAAS “for advances in the discipline of chemistry to understand how molecular signals are propagated into bacterial action and develop novel strategies to treat bacterial infection.”

Dr. Carlson is an innovator in chemical biology whose research focuses on the global challenge of antibiotic resistance. She is a leader in mentorship and training and a strong advocate for inclusivity. Her work has resulted in more than 90 publications and six patents, and she currently serves as co-director of the University of Minnesota’s National Institutes of Health Chemistry Biology Interface Training Grant, which provides interdisciplinary training to chemistry, medicinal chemistry and biochemistry graduate students. Her honors include the Cottrell Plus SEED Award, Presidential Early Career Award, Sloan Research Fellowship and NSF CAREER Award. 

Michael Gale was recognized by AAAS “for distinguished contributions to the fields of virology and immunology, specifically in innate immunity and pathogen recognition and response."

Dr. Gale’s laboratory investigates how innate immune and inflammatory processes shape host defense against RNA virus infection, with a focus on virus–host interactions that regulate viral replication and immune outcomes. Dr. Gale applies systems biology approaches to study innate immune responses in acute and chronic infections to inform strategies that combat disease and improve global health. Ongoing research includes immune control of flaviviruses (such as West Nile, Zika and Powassan), as well as HIV, hepatitis B, Oropouche virus and emerging viral threats.

Maria Gini was recognized by AAAS “for distinguished contributions to the fields of robotics and artificial intelligence, particularly in the area of multi-agent systems, and for exemplary mentoring of students and junior faculty in computer science.”

Dr. Gini is a world-renowned researcher and educator whose work has advanced robotics and multi-agent systems by integrating AI into real-world applications across manufacturing, agriculture and healthcare. She is committed to broadening participation in computing, serving as a mentor for the National Science Foundation’s CSGrad4US program and as the chair of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence’s Professional Development and Career Mentoring Committee. Dr. Gini leads a summer program introducing high school students to computer programming. Her honors include the U.S. Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring and the ACM/SIGAI Autonomous Agents Research Award.

Daniel Harki was recognized by AAAS “for distinguished contributions to the field of antiviral and anticancer drug design by employing medicinal chemistry and chemical biology and for outstanding service to the scientific community."

Dr. Harki’s research focuses on the development of novel small molecules to serve as mechanistic probes and therapeutics for applications in anticancer and antiviral research. Dr. Harki and colleagues have developed first-in-class inhibitors for the APOBEC3 DNA cytosine deaminases, which promote cancer drug resistance mutations, as well as targeted degraders for “difficult to drug” proteins in oncology. Dr. Harki serves as the deputy director of medicinal chemistry for the Midwest AViDD Center, which is developing drugs for viruses of pandemic concern. 

Carolyn Silflow was recognized by AAAS “for distinguished service in the development of Chlamydomonas biology through genetics research and service.”

Dr. Silflow’s research contributed to development of the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas as a model system widely used to study assembly and motility of cilia, biological light signaling and photosynthesis. Applications of this research are relevant for understanding ciliary-based human diseases, optogenetics, biofuel production and optimization of photosynthesis. She has served as co-director of the University’s Chlamydomonas Resource Center since 2004.

AAAS Fellows play a crucial role in shaping public policy, advancing scientific research and influencing national and global perspectives on critical issues. Becoming an AAAS Fellow is a lifetime honor, which comes with an expectation that recipients maintain the highest standards of professional ethics and scientific integrity. 

View a full list of the 2025 class of AAAS Fellows and historic honorees at aaas.org/fellows.